GUI BBQ Restaurant & Bar

Unlike most of the BBQ places, this specializes in skewers. We had mostly lamb, but there's also beef, chicken, and various organ meats. The skewers come cooked from the kitchen but there's a chafing dish on the table to keep it warm. We also ordered dandan noodles (which are good but very spicy), asparagus (which was pretty good), and cucumber salad (which works great as a palate cleanser).Service was pretty good as well and not too crowded for a weekend evening.

Solid skewer place! But make sure you don't leave the skewers on the grill for too long, or they'll dry out! The waiter we had amazing! He gave some spice to dip our skewers in and it really enhanced the flavor! He was also kind enough to provide me vinegar. Cucumber salad was not as good as I've had it at other places. It had a strong flavor of garlic. I loved the spicy squid! The texture and flavor was amazing. I could've opted out of the pork skewers though, just didn't like it.

for a late night spot in OC, this definitely gets the job done! it can easily get pricey so I'd recommend going in a group + ordering a dan dan noodle to help fill up!recommendations: taiwanese sausage, fish tofu, fish balls, shiitake mushrooms, dan dan noodles, chicken gizzard, beefmeh / do not recommend: lamb (can get gamey), cucumber salad, scallops with vermicelli (overcooked)service is alright - they don't check on you often, each time i'm here the fire for the hot plate runs out. tip - BRING A SWEATER THE AIR CONDITIONING IS SUPER AGGRESSIVE

After coming here, can see where all the one star reviews are coming from. First of all - the service was horrible. We stood in the entrance area for almost 10 minutes with zero acknowledgement even though there were empty tables. Just as we were about to turn around and leave they sat us so we stayed. This is a very Chinese Yakitori type place - nothing like Japanese traditional Yakitori. Every single skewer we ordered had five spice seasoning on it so they all tasted the same regardless of cut. Going back to the bad service - They walked by our table and just threw down a bunch of skewers on the grill without so much a word. The skewers came already pre-cooked so the "yakitori grill" is just to keep the skewers warm I guess? Our flame died out quickly so we were just eating lukewarm skewers. The only unique dish we enjoyed was the scallops - which came in scallop shells with vermicelli noodles and a garlic butter sauce. Also not sure why "bar" is in the name of this restaurant. There is no "bar" or alcohol service to be seen. They do have a bar area but it's not for seating and there was no alcohol behind the counter. I'd avoid this place and won't be back. Go spend your hard earned money at a yummy place that actually cares about their customers. Only reason I didn't give it one star was because we didn't experience food poisoning - oh, and for the scallops.

There are plenty of parking spaces. The wait time was really quick and we got seated pretty quickly. They give you a menu and you can write the number of how many skewers you want. The wait for the food took forever, we waited about 40 minutes. Once we got the food, everything was better. The skewers were flavorful and delicious! Service: 3/5Tip(s):- Restrooms available- Plenty of parking spaces

My partner was in the mood for yakitori so we decided to try this place out. Upon walking in, it was relatively busy for a weekday. I liked the blend of both modern and traditional styles in this restaurant. The service was decent; the workers were very kind and friendly, but not as attentive as I had hoped. It took 10+ minutes for us to order our food and our trash was left on our table for the duration of our meal. We got an assortment of food. We got corn cheese, noodles, chicken skin, chicken heart, duck tongue, beef tongue, pork jowl, and Chinese sausage. The corn cheese, chicken skin, and pork jowl were the stars of the show. The corn cheese was delicious. My partner tried it for the first time and adored it. The chicken skin was amazingly crunchy like a chip. Finally the pork jowl was perfectly fatty and blended so well with the spice mixture they gave us. The others, however, were not as high quality. The noodles of hot and sour soup were good, but the sourness of the broth was overpowering. The other meats were just okay--I've had better quality chicken heart and beef tongue at Honda-ya. Overall a good experience. Pricier than expected, but nothing egregious. It's a good option if you're nearby

Great spot for some asian bbq! though it's on the pricer side as the servings for each order are small. We have to order multiple of 10 skewers of everything to feel full. That being said everything has great flavors!Recommend:grilled Oystersskewers premium beefskewers of lambskewers of pork bellyfish tofu

Really solid food and great service.If you live meaty, salty, goodness, this is it!This was my first time at a skewers restaurant and it felt like an wing restaurant, but with skewers instead.I thought that it would be better if you cooked the skewers at the table, but this does make it a bit more pleasant since the room doesn't have that much smoke or air pollution.We ordered a ton of beef, lamb and chicken skewers.They all tasted kind of the same, and very savory and a little salty. You can ask for them to leave off the spice and you can have a small bowl of it on the side.

I've come here a couple times already, and each time was a great experience! We always get seated pretty quickly, and the food comes pretty fast as well. The restaurant is clean and organized as well, with booths and tables available, and two big TVs. There is also a parking lot in the front so parking won't be an issue. The food itself was very good, especially the salad. The only thing I'll say is that the oyster dish we ordered was better previous times, but this time it wasn't as flavorful. It is also a little pricey. However, besides that, everything was good and I recommend this restaurant if you ever want skewers in Irvine!

My boyfriend and I were introduced to GUI last summer and became hooked. You can find us there at least once a month. I have nothing but good things to say about this place. It's open pretty late so it's perfect for a late night munch. They offer both dine in and take out, but I prefer dining in. The servers are very attentive to our needs and were quick to take our orders. The ambiance was very nice, they had big TVs that you can watch sports games on. Now onto the food.. our typical order consists of:- Chicken skin: Absolutely delicious, so crispy, very flavorful. This is a MUST have when visiting GUI- Premium beef skewers: Super yummy, rich in flavor. I personally prefer beef over lamb because I prefer how it tastes but I've tried both and the lamb is pretty good too!- Chicken cartilage: Adds a nice crunch to your meal, very tasty.- Chicken Gizzard: Pretty good, not on the tip top of my list but I still like it.- Cucumber Salad: Refreshing, crisp. Adds a nice refreshing flavor change during your meal.- Pork belly: I order this maybe half the times I go but it's pretty good. Only con I have about this one is that it's a little bit drier than I'd like it.- Bottle of soju (yogurt flavor): Just something to sip on while enjoying our meal :)Overall, GUI is one of my favorite restaurants in the area and if you have not tried it, I really recommend you add this to your list of must tries. I would give this restaurant more than 5 stars if I could.